Heavier-than-air airship



June 18, 1929.

G. c. BROWN 1.718.109

HEAVIERTHANAIR AIRSHIP Filed May l2, 1928 @fa/P65 C. SILPa//z//V 6 WV 5f 50:51# l 'la @Holme/14o.

Patented June 18, 1929.

1,718,1ee PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE COLEMAN BROWN,.OF DALLAS, TEXAS. y

HEAVIER-THAN--AIR AIRSHIP.

Application filed May 12,

This invention relates to a heavier-thanair airship and to a method ofoperating the same, it being designed more especially as an improvementupon the structure disclosed in Patent Number 1,315,084 issued to me onSeptember 2nd, 1919. l

One of the objects of the invention 1s to provide an airship of thistype utilizing a central gas container which is connectedto the car ofthe airship, this container being of such size as to nearly lift the carand its load, there being a framebeneath and separate fromthe thecentral container provided at its ends with additional gas containers,means being employed by which the plane can be shifted relative tothesupported car so as to cause the airship to ascend, descend, goforwardly, and to be turned in any desired direction.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of cables or otheroperating connections so located and proportioned as to shift the planeproperly .during the actuation of the airship.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds the invention resides in thek combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein 'disclosed may be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the airship.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2, Figure l.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3 3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4, Figure 1.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A designates anelongated plane extending above the top of a car B. This plane isextended along the bottom of a central gas container C, a front gascontainer D, and a rear -gas container E, all of these containers beingin alinement as shown and the plane being inclined upwardly andrearwardly. Relatively short cables 1 and 2 are connected to the frontend of the plane the corners thereof and longer cables 3 and 4 areconnected to the corner portions of the 192s. serial No. 277,333.

they are attached to operating cranks l 5 adapted to be rotated by anysuitable power means located in the car. The front and back containers Dand E vcarried by the plane are located beyond the front and rear Iendsrespectively of the car whereas the middle container C, which isconnectedk to the car, is located directly over the car and is separatefrom the plane. This container has cables 6 which are extendeddownwardly and connected to the car B as shown. y The car B and thekequipment carried thereby constitute a load somewhat heavier thanthatwhich can be liftedby the gas contained in the containers C, D, and. Ebut the gas in the end containers D and E will be sufiicient'to maintainthe `plane A in elevated, position` above the car. e n

In practice it has been found that best results can be obtained by usinga plane A approximately five times as long as it is wide and that theplane should be inclined at from five to fifteen degrees. It has alsobeen found desirable tohave the end cables 1,- 2, 3, and 4 extended atapproximately fortyfive degrees-in the direction of the length of theairship and approximately five degrees transversely of the airship.These angles are disclosed approximately `in Figures 1 and 2.

It has also been found desirable to make the ends of the containers Dand E rounded Y or pointed to facilitate forward travel while rounded tofacilitate the ascent of the airship. The bottom surface of the plane Ais either flat orv concaved transversely so as` to insure properdownward displacement of air during the actuation of the mechanism.Supporting wheels 7 can be connected to the bottom of the car B to aidit in leaving the ground and while making a landing. v

In practice the gas container C, which is arranged directly over andconnected to the car, is inflated to sustain a part, but not all, of theweight of the car and its load. By using this container the load whichcan be carried by the airship is greatly increased over what would bepossible should the gas container be eliminated.

The airship heretofore described is operated to ascend and to go forwardthrough the air by pulling on and releasing the cables in propersuccession, this being done by means of the motor driven'cranks 5. The

cable 2 is first pulled by a crank and thereafter the cables 3, l, and4- are pulled in the order named. This actuation of the cables iseffected with sufficient rapidity to produce an up and down flappingaction of the plane which will be suflicient to elevate the entireairship, this lifting action due to the movement of the plane relativeto the car B being such as to displace sui'licient air downwardly tomore than compensate for the diiference between the Weight of theairship and the air displaced thereby.

By continuing the operation ust described the airship is elevated to adesired altitude where it can be maintained by continuing the actuationof the plane at a lower speed. While the cables are operatedsuccessively during 'the ascentof the airship, as already explained, anysuitable means may be employed for separately actuating the cranks Sothat the cables will be operated in pairs. If the front cables l and 2are operated in unison followed by the operation of the rear cables 3and 4 the airship can be caused to i move forwardly. The turning of theairship can be effected by operatingr the cables 1 and 4 more rapidlythan the cables 2 and 3 or vice versa, thereby turning the vehicleeither to the right or to the left.

It is to be understood of course that the drawing only illustrates thisinvention diagrammatically. Any type of car can be used and obviouslythe shape of the plane can be varied to produce desired results.

llVhat is claimed is:

A heavier-than-air airship comprising an elongated plane the width ofwhich is equal to or less than one-fifth the length thereof, a car belowthe center of the plane, said plane being inclined downwardly andforwardly relative to the car at an angle of from iive to fifteendegrees, a central gas container separate from the plane and connectedto and directly over the car, said central container being of such sizeas to nearly support the weight of the car and its load, end gascontainers carried by and adapted to support the plane7 cablesconnecting the sides of the front portion of the plane to the sides ofthe front portion of the car, longer cables connecting the sides of therear portion of the plane to the sides of the rear portion of the car,means for pulling the cables in predetermined succession thereby tosuccessively pull upon rpredetermined corner portions of the planeteelevate the car relative to the plane 'and for subsequently paying outthe cablesin predetermined succession to allow the correspondingportions of the plane to rise under the action of the gas in thecontainer, said relative movement of the gas sustained plane operatingto fpropel the airship in a desired direction.r Y

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aiiiXedmy signature. Y

GEORGE COLEMAN BROWN.l

